Modulator systems

ABSTRACT

The modulator system comprises emitter follower type first and second transistor pairs with their emitter electrodes commonly connected, and an emitter follower type third transistor pair with their emitter electrodes commonly connected. Clamped modulation signals having opposite polarities are supplied to the base electrodes of the first transistors of the first and second transistor pairs, whereas signals to be modulated and having opposite polarities are supplied to the base electrodes of the second transistors of the first and second transistor pairs. The base electrodes of the first and second transistors of the third transistor pair are connected to the commonly connected emitter electrodes of the first and second transistor pairs, thereby producing a modulated output signal from the commonly connected emitter electrodes of the third transistor pair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a modulator system having a wide dynamic range and more particularly to a modulator system operable with a low source voltage.

One example of a prior art modulator system is illustrated in FIG. 1 and comprises an input terminal IN₁ supplied with a signal to be modulated, another input terminal IN₂ supplied with a modulation signal and an output terminal OUT for deriving out a modulated output signal. The modulator circuit further comprises transistor pairs Q₁, Q₂ and Q₃, Q₄, the emitter electrodes of respective pairs being commonly connected, driving transistor pair Q₅ and Q₆ respectively driving transistor pairs Q₁, Q₂ and Q₃, Q₄, and another transistor pair Q₇ and Q₈ constituting a constant current source for transistor pairs Q₅ and Q₆.

The collector electrode of transistor Q₁ is connected to a source of supply V_(cc) via a resistor R₁, while the base electrode of the transistor Q₁ is connected to the input terminal IN₁. The collector electrode of transistor Q₂ is connected to the output terminal OUT, whereas the base electrode is connected to the base electrode of transistor Q₃, these base electrodes being commonly connected to a source of bias voltage E₁. The collector electrode of transistor Q₃ is connected directly to the collector electrode of transistor Q₁, whereas the collector electrode of transistor Q₄ is connected to the output terminal OUT and to the source V_(cc) via a resistor R₂. The base electrode of transistor Q₄ is connected to the input terminal IN₁. The collector electrode of transistor Q₅ is connected to the commonly connected emitter electrodes of transistors Q₁ and Q₂, whereas the emitter electrode of transistor Q₅ is connected to the collector electrode of transistor Q₇ and to the emitter electrode of transistor Q₆ via common emitter resistor R₃, and base electrode of transistor Q₅ is connected to the input terminal IN₂. The collector electrode of transistor Q₆ is connected to the commonly connected emitter electrodes of transistors Q₃ and Q₄ whereas the emitter electrode of transistor Q₆ is connected to the collector electrode of transistor Q₈. The base electrode of transistor Q₆ is connected to a source of bias voltage E₂. The emitter electrodes of the transistors Q₇ and Q₈ are grounded respectively through resistors R₄ and R₅, whereas their base electrodes are commonly connected to a source of bias voltage E₃.

FIG. 2 shows in sections (a) to (d) wave forms useful to explain the operation of the modulator system shown in FIG. 1 wherein the waveform of a modulation signal applied to the input terminal IN₂ is shown in section (a), the waveform of a signal to be modulated which is applied to the input terminal IN₁ in section (b), the waveform of the modulated output obtainable at the resistor R₂ in section (c), and the wave form of the modulated output obtainable at the resistor R₁ in section (d), the polarities and the phases of the wave forms shown in FIG. 2 at (c) and (d) being opposite with each other.

The operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 1 will now be described with reference to FIG. 2. The modulation signal applied to the input terminal IN₂ and having a waveform as shown in FIG. 2 at (a) is applied to the base electrode of transistor Q₅ to drive the same. The transistor Q₅ thus driven operates in two manners, that is, (1) as a grounded emitter circuit and (2) as an emitter follower. In the former case (1), the collector output is applied to the commonly connected emitter electrodes of transistors Q₁ and Q₂ for driving the same. At this time, transistors Q₁ and Q₂ connected to cascade with transistor Q₅ are in a grounded base connection and operate so. In the latter case (2) wherein transistor Q₅ is operated in an emitter follower scheme, the emitter output signal thereof will be transmitted to transistor Q₆ via resistor R₃. Since this transistor Q₆ is in grounded base, the modulation signal transmitted through resistor R₃ becomes the collector output of the transistor Q₆ which drives transistors Q₃ and Q₄ with their emitter electrodes commonly connected. At this time, transistors Q₃ and Q₄ are in grounded base and operate so.

The signal to be modulated having a waveform as shown in FIG. 2 at (b) and applied to the input terminal IN₁ drives transistors Q₁ and Q₄. However, as shown in FIG. 1, these transistors Q₁ and Q₄ are emitter coupled with transistors Q₂ and Q₃ respectively so that transistors Q₁ and Q₄ constitute a differential amplifier. The mutual conductance gm of the differential amplifier varies depending upon the driving signal (in this case, the signal to be modulated) so that the differential amplifier will manifest switching characteristics when the driving signal exceeds a predetermined input level. For this reason, when the signal to be modulated, shown in FIG. 2 at (b), assumes a positive half cycle, transistors Q₁ and Q₄ are turned ON, while transistors Q₂ and Q₃ are turned OFF. In the same manner, when the signal to be modulated, shown in FIG. 2 at (b), assumes a negative half cycle, transistors Q₁ and Q₄ are turned OFF, whereas transistors Q₂ and Q₃ are turned ON.

Thus, when transistors Q₁ and Q₃ are alternately turned ON, an output will appear across resistor R₁, whereas when transistors Q₂ and Q₄ are alternately turned ON, an output will appear across the resistor R₂. The wave forms of the outputs are shown in sections (d) and (c) in FIG. 2, respectively. As shown, when transistor Q₁ or Q₂ is ON, the output at the output terminal OUT is such that a modulation signal which is an inversion of the modulation signal as shown in FIG. 2 at (a) is switched with the signal to be modulated shown in FIG. 2 at (b) because at this time the transistor Q₅ is in grounded emitter and operates so. On the other hand, when transistor Q₃ and Q₄ is ON, the output at the output terminal OUT is such that the modulation signal as shown in FIG. 2 at (a) is switched with the signal to be modulated shown in FIG. 2 at (b) because at this time transistor Q₅ operates in an emitter follower scheme, while the transistor Q₆ is in grounded base and operates so.

By repeating the operation described above, a modulated output signal is produced at the output terminal OUT.

With the modulation system, however, since three stages of transistor circuits and two resistors are connected in series between the source and the ground, there are such problems, when the source voltage is low, that the level of the input modulation signal is required to be low, thereby lowering the dynamic level and degrading the signal to noise ratio (S/N) of the modulated output signal with respect to the input signal to be modulated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention is to provide an improved modulator system that can solve various problems described above and can provide a wide dynamic range even with a low source voltage.

According to this invention, there is provided a modulator system comprising emitter follower type first and second transistor pairs, emitter electrodes of the transistors of each pair being commonly connected; an emitter follower type third transistor pair, emitter electrodes of the transistors of the third pair being commonly connected; means to supply clamped modulation signals having polarities opposite to each other to base electrodes of first transistors of the first and second transistor pairs; means to supply signals to be modulated and having polarities opposite to each other to base electrodes of second transistors of the first and second transistor pairs; and means for connecting base electrodes of the first and second transistors of the third transistor pair to the commonly connected emitter electrodes of the first and second transistor pairs, thereby producing a modulated output signal from the commonly connected emitter electrodes of the third transistor pair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a connection diagram showing one example of a prior art modulator system;

FIG. 2 illustrates in sections (a) to (d) wave forms utilized to explain the operation of the modulation system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a connection diagram showing one embodiment of the modulation system according to this invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates in sections (a) to (g) wave forms at various portions useful to explain the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment of the modulator system illustrated in FIG. 3 comprises an input terminal IN₁₁ connected to receive an input modulation signal, another input terminal IN₁₂ supplied with an input modulation signal having a polarity or phase opposite to that of the modulation signal applied to the input terminal IN₁₁, an input terminal IN₁₃ supplied with an input signal to be modulated, a terminal IN₁₄ supplied with a desired bias voltage from a source of bias voltage E, and an output terminal OUT from which a modulated output signal is derived out.

A pair of NPN type transistors Q₁₁ and Q₁₂ are provided with their emitter electrodes and collector electrodes connected together respectively, transistors Q₁₁ and Q₁₂ constituting an NPN type transistor pair Q_(A) of the emitter follower type. Similarly, pair of PNP type transistors Q₁₃ and Q₁₄ are provided with their emitter electrodes and collector electrodes connected together respectively for constituting a PNP type transistor pair Q_(B) of the emitter follower type. Furthermore, NPN type transistors Q₁₅ and Q₁₆ are provided with their respective emitter electrodes and collector electrodes connected together for constituting an NPN type transistor pair Q_(c) of the emitter follower type. NPN type transistors Q₁₇ and Q₁₈ are provided with their emitter electrodes connected together to constitute a differential amplifier COMP.

The commonly connected collector electrodes of transistors Q₁₁ and Q₁₂ of the emitter follower type NPN type transistor pair Q_(A) are connected to a source of supply V_(cc) whereas their commonly connected emitter electrodes are grounded through a resistor R₁₁. The base electrode of transistor Q₁₁ is connected to the input terminal IN₁₁, and the base electrode of transistor Q₁₂ is connected to the collector electrode of transistor Q₁₇. The commonly connected emitter electrodes of transistors Q₁₃ and Q₁₄ of the emitter follow type PNP type transistor pair Q_(B) are connected to the output terminal OUT and to the source V_(cc) via a resistor R₁₂, whereas their commonly connected collector electrodes are grounded. The base electrode of the transistor Q₁₃ is connected to the commonly connected emitter electrodes of transistors Q₁₁ and Q₁₂, whereas the base electrode of transistor Q₁₄ is connected to the commonly connected emitter electrodes of transistors Q₁₅ and Q₁₆. The commonly connected collector electrodes of the transistors Q₁₅ and Q₁₆ of the emitter follower type transistor pair Q_(c) are connected to the source V_(cc), while their commonly connected emitter electrodes are connected to ground via a resistor R₁₃. The base electrode of transistor Q₁₅ is connected to the input terminal IN₁₂, whereas the base electrode of transistor Q₁₆ is connected to the collector electrode of transistor Q₁₈. The collector electrode of transistor Q₁₇ of the differential amplifier COMP is connected to the base electrode of transistor Q₁₈ via serially connected resistors R₁₄ and R₁₆. The commonly connected emitter electrodes of transistors Q₁₇ and Q₁₈ of the differential amplifier COMP are grounded via resistor R₁₈, and the base electrode of transistor Q₁₇ is connected to the input terminal IN₁₄. The collector electrode of transistor Q₁₈ is connected to a junction between resistors R₁₄ and R₁₆ via a resistor R₁₅, whereas the base electrode is connected to the input terminal IN₁₃ via a capacitor C and to ground through a resistor R₁₇. A junction common to the resistors R₁₄, R₁₅ and R₁₆ is connected to the source of supply _(Vcc).

The base electrodes of transistors Q₁₂ and Q₁₆ of the NPN type transistor pairs Q_(A) and Q_(C) of the emitter follower connection are respectively supplied with signals to be modulated and having opposite polarities, where as the base electrodes of the transistors Q₁₁ and Q₁₅ of the NPN type transistor pairs Q_(A) and Q_(C) of the emitter follower connection are supplied with clamped modulation signals having opposite polarities. The commonly connected emitter electrodes of the transistors of the NPN type transistor pairs Q_(A) and Q_(C) of the emitter follower connection are respectively connected to the base electrodes of transistors Q₁₃ and Q₁₄ of the PNP type transistor pair Q_(B) of the emitter follower connection for deriving out a modulated signal from the commonly connected emitter electrodes of the transistors Q₁₃ and Q₁₄ of the PNP type transistor pair Q_(B).

FIG. 4 shows waveforms at various points of the circuit wherein the waveform of a modulation signal supplied to the input terminal IN₁₁ is shown in section (a), and the waveform of a modulation signal applied to the input terminal IN₁₂ is shown in section (b). As can be noted, the polarities or phases of both input modulation signals are opposite to each other. The waveforms of the signals to be modulated and applied to the base electrodes of transistors Q₁₂ and Q₁₆ of the NPN type transistor pairs Q_(A) and Q_(C) of the emitter follower connection are shown in sections (c) and (d). As shown, these signals to be modulated have opposite phases. The waveform of the emitter voltage of the transistors Q₁₁ and Q₁₂ of the NPN type transistor pair Q_(A) of the emitter follower connection is shown in section (e), the waveform of the emitter voltage of transistors Q₁₅ and Q₁₆ of the NPN type transistor pair Q_(C) of the emitter follower connection in section (f), and the waveform of the emitter voltage of transistors Q₁₃ and Q₁₄ of the PNP type transistor pair Q_(B) of the emitter follower connection in section (g).

The operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will now be described with reference to FIG. 4. The modulation input signals having waveforms as shown in FIG. 4 at (a) and (b) are applied to input terminals IN₁₁ and IN₁₂ respectively and then applied to the base electrodes of transistors Q₁₁ and Q₁₅ respectively to cause them to operate in an emitter follower scheme. On the other hand, since a suitable DC voltage is being applied to the base electrode of transistor Q₁₇ of the differential amplifier COMP from the source of bias voltage E, the input signal to be modulated applied to the base electrode of transistor Q₁₈ via input terminal IN₁₃ is switched by the transistor Q₁₈ so that signals to be modulated which have opposite polarities will appear on the collector electrodes of transistors Q₁₇ and Q₁₈ as shown in FIG. 4 at (c) and (d). Then, these signals to be modulated are transmitted to the respective base electrodes of transistors Q₁₃ and Q₁₄ via transistors Q₁₂ and Q₁₆ of the emitter follower connection. At this time, transistors Q₁₁, Q₁₂ and Q₁₅, Q₁₆ operate like OR gate circuits. More particularly, these circuits operate in such a manner that higher one of the base voltages is transmitted to the commonly connected emitter electrodes producing an output therefrom as shown in FIG. 4 at (e) or (f). At the common emitter of transistors Q₁₃ and Q₁₄, the wave forms shown in FIG. 4 at (e) and (f) are mixed to produce a modulated output signal as shown in FIG. 4 at (g).

As described above, since the modulator circuit is constructed such that the modulation signals applied to the input terminals IN₁₁ and IN₁₂ are transmitted through transistors Q₁₁, Q₁₅ and transistors Q₁₃, Q₁₄ of emitter follower circuits for the production of the modulated signal, the linearity of the circuit is excellent and the dynamic range thereof which is determined by the levels of the signals to be modulated shown in FIG. 4 at (c) and (d) can be extended. It should be understood that the voltage supplied to the modulator circuit shown in FIG. 3 may be higher than the level of the input modulation signals shown in FIG. 4 at (a) and (b) so long as the input voltage is contained in the operating range of the differential amplifier COMP constituted by transistors Q₁₇ and Q₁₈ and acting as an amplifier for the signals to be modulated. This ensures that the modulator of this invention can operate with a low source voltage.

Although the invention has been described in terms of a phase inverting amplifier for the signals to be modulated, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to such a specific construction. Thus, for example, signals to be modulated may be supplied to the base electrodes of transistors Q₁₂ and Q₁₆ of the NPN type transistor pairs Q_(A) and Q_(C) of the emitter follower connection after passing through a phase inversion circuit of a transistor logic (TTL), that is, a logic circuit utilizing transistors at the input and output. In this case, a sufficiently wide dynamic range may be ensured even when the voltage supplied to the modulator circuit is equal to the low voltage supplied to the TTL circuit. Furthermore, while in the foregoing embodiment, emitter follower type NPN transistor pairs Q_(A) and Q_(C) with the emitter electrodes of the transistors commonly connected and an emitter follower type PNP transistor pair Q_(B) with the emitter electrodes of the transistors of the pair commonly connected were used, it will be clear that the invention is by no means limited to such specific connection and that the NPN type transistor pair and the PNP type transistor pair may be interchanged. More particularly, the same object can be attained even when the emitter follow type NPN transistor pairs Q_(A) and Q_(C) with their emitter electrodes commonly connected are substituted by PNP type transistor pairs or when the emitter follower type PNP transistor pair Q_(B) with their emitter electrodes commonly connected is substituted by an NPN type transistor pair. In this case, the polarity of the source should be reversed.

As can be noted from the foregoing description, the invention provides a novel modulation system capable of providing sufficiently wide dynamic range with low operating voltage and with a relatively simple circuit construction. For this reason, the novel modulator system can be advantageously applied to modulation circuit of a portable color television camera driven by a battery of low voltage. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A modulator system comprising:emitter follower type first and second transistor pairs, emitter electrodes of the transistors of each pair being commonly connected, said first and second transistor pairs each having transistors of one conductivity type; an emitter follower type third transistor pair, emitter electrodes of the transistors of the third pair being commonly connected, said third pair having transistors of one conductivity type, which conductivity type is opposite to that of the transistors in said first and second transistor pairs; means for supplying clamped modulation signals to base electrodes of first transistors of said first and second transistors pairs, said modulation signals being of opposite polarity; means for supplying signals to be modulated to base electrodes of second transistors of said first and second transistors pairs, said signals being of opposite polarity; and means for connecting base electrodes of the first and second transistors of said third transistor pair to the commonly connected emitter electrodes of said first and second transistor pairs, thereby producing a modulated output signal from said commonly connected emitter electrodes of said third transistor pair. 